Impact Ventures International (IVI) has outlined plans to enter South American and select African markets within the next 12 months, extending a footprint that already spans the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The expansion reflects a firm that has moved quickly since its founding, building a client base of over 200 businesses, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals across industries while simultaneously developing a philanthropic infrastructure that sits at the center of its operating model rather than at its edges.
Kelly Grandmaison, who co-founded IVI together with Joshua Kirshbaum and serves as its strategic lead for exit planning and business acceleration, brings a background spanning finance, psychology, operations, and cross-industry consulting across entertainment, sports, construction, and medical services.
Her Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) certification and financial licensing, combined with academic training in psychology and sociology, shape an approach to client work that accounts for the organizational and personal dimensions of business growth alongside the financial ones. That combination is reflected in how IVI is built and how it delivers results.
How the Firm Is Structured
IVI operates through three interconnected programs designed to serve business owners at different stages of development. VentureMax360 works with owners targeting a high-value exit within 12 to 18 months, focusing on operational efficiency, revenue acceleration, and valuation maximization within a defined timeline.
The CEPA program takes a longer view, engaging owners years before any planned transition to build the financial structures, succession planning, and operational documentation that support premium sale valuations. Meanwhile, the IVSS Digital Office provides the technology infrastructure, an integrated CRM, and an automation platform that keeps businesses running efficiently through periods of growth, leadership change, or ownership transition.
What separates IVI’s model from conventional consulting is the level of ongoing involvement Grandmaison and her team maintain through implementation. Rather than delivering a strategic plan and stepping back, the firm works directly alongside clients, coordinating with their existing lawyers, accountants, and financial advisors to ensure every element of the business and personal financial ecosystem moves in alignment.
Under that model, IVI has helped clients double or triple their company valuations within 13 to 24 months, guided owners through multimillion-dollar exits, and launched and scaled more than 32 businesses within a single year.
“Business owners need a team they can trust,” Grandmaison mentions, “One that not only provides guidance but does the hard work behind the scenes so they can focus on building their vision.“
A Philanthropic Model Built Into the Structure
Twenty percent of IVI’s net profits are directed to nonprofit initiatives through the IVI Foundation’s GIVING Project, a commitment Grandmaison established as a founding principle of the firm. The GIVING Project provides fiscal sponsorship, donor management tools, and operational support to more than 60 organizations, with access to a network of 3,000 partners across sectors.
In its first year, the foundation housed nearly 60 people displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires, supported more than two dozen nonprofits in developing sustainable operating models, and connected over 40,000 individuals with resources to start or rebuild their businesses. A dedicated portion of those resources supports CRPS patients in accessing medical tourism opportunities abroad for treatment, a commitment rooted in Grandmaison’s own experience navigating the condition and finding effective care outside the United States after domestic options yielded limited results.
The philanthropic structure is a point of how Grandmaison measures IVI’s progress more broadly. For the founder, revenue and client volume matter, but so does the number of founders who exit on their own terms rather than under duress, and the reach of the foundation’s community programs.
“My goal is so that none of my clients fit in the 70 to 80 percent of businesses that do not sell,” she emphasizes. “I want them to bring their value to the table, highlight their edge, and emphasize what makes them a leader in their respective industries.“
Where the Firm Is Headed
IVI’s digital-first infrastructure, anchored by the IVSS Digital Office, allows Grandmaison to deliver consulting services across geographies without the overhead constraints of a traditional physical expansion. That capability makes the firm’s international growth plan operationally viable, enabling the same level of hands-on client engagement in international markets that it provides domestically.
Grandmaison and Kirshbaum’s long-term targets are specific. They have set a goal of achieving a 5x multiple in company growth within three to five years, expanding IVI’s team across several countries on multiple continents, and establishing the firm as a recognized global authority in exit planning and business acceleration.
Grandmaison acknowledges that the path is not always straightforward, especially as economic conditions shift, leadership priorities evolve, and once-reliable exit strategies require a more modern approach. Still, she believes the firm is moving in the right direction by helping business owners pursue more than financial freedom. For Grandmaison, the work is equally about building legacy, strengthening long-term security, and creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation.
As she puts it, “I built IVI so business owners don’t just work hard. They build businesses that truly work for them.”
